Dr. Godfred Bonnah Nkansah is the founder and executive director of DAI-Africa. He has 14 years of working experience in the NGO sector. Before establishing DAI-Africa, he previously worked with local NGOs in Ghana, including Fountain of Life Care and Progressive Excellence Youth Organisation (PEYORG), based in Cape Coast and Elmina respectively as a Project Coordinator. He also worked with Hope for Future Generations (HFFG) based in Accra as the Director of Programmes.

Godfred has also worked with international NGOs such as Opportunities Industrialization Centers International (OICI) as a Monitoring and Evaluation Officer for an HIV/AIDS home-based care program in the Central region of Ghana, Marie Stopes International Ghana as the Advocacy Manager and Youth Focal Person, and Talking Hope based in Berlin as Programmes Director. Across the above-named NGOs, He managed projects and programs funded by top donors, including USAID, DANIDA, the Netherlands Embassy in Ghana, DFID, and the Mercator Foundation.

Godfred’s professional expertise covers knowledge and experience in policy advocacy, public health, education, climate change, social policy design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and youth development. He has participated in the design and implementation of many social policies in Ghana, including the Adolescent Reproductive Health Policy and Strategy of the Ghana Health Service, the Revised National Population Policy, and the current National Youth Policy of Ghana, among others. He has been certificated as an advocacy specialist by the Advance Family Planning Advocacy Training program, provided in collaboration with the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Bloomberg.

He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science [summa cum laude] from the Corvinus University of Budapest, with a specialization in youth participation in democratic politics, a Master’s degree with distinction in Practising Sustainable Development, with specialization in ICTs for Development from Royal Holloway, University of London, and a Bachelor’s degree in Natural Resources Management with first-class honors from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana. He has scholarly publications in High Impact Q1 and Q2 journals in the fields of political attitudes and participation behaviors, educational policy, and ICTs for special needs education.

Godfred has previously taught academic writing and research design at the postgraduate level at Corvinus University of Budapest and worked with the Centre for Social Sciences at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences as a contract researcher. His current research examines the effect of emergency legislations, such as the declaration of a state of emergency on democratic institutions and civil liberties.

Godfred has combined top-level expertise in NGO management, social science research, advocacy, and development policy. He has worked in Ghana, Hungary, and Germany, and has had working visits to several African countries including Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya. His most recent scientific and advocacy works include the following:

Dr. Fowzia Adiyah is an environmental scientist with expertise in soil carbon, soil nutrients, soil survey and classification, soil organic carbon in relation to climate change, cocoa agroforestry, and forest ecosystems. She also specialised in water management in relation to environmental sustainability and climate change. Dr. Fowzia is also an expert in water contamination with heavy metals.

She served as a community development expert with Newmont Ghana Gold Limited to establish the livelihoods of mine-affected farmers in agriculture, land access, and environmental sustainability. She is skilled in community engagement and believes in grassroots and female participation in problem-solving.

She is a research scientist with publications in high-impact factor journals relevant to her field. She is a multipurpose-driven person and has a critical interest in both social and applied sciences.